Arnett Moultrie was one of the hottest commodities during the offseason after he announced that he was transferring from UTEP.

The 6-foot-11 center was pursued by many of basketball's elite programs such as Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, Auburn and Florida. But Moultrie made his decision to return close to his Memphis roots and play at Mississippi State.

"The reason I chose Mississippi State is that it's close to home and they've been recruiting me ever since high school," Moultrie said.

Moultrie spent two seasons at UTEP appearing in 70 games including 67 starting calls. He averaged 9.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and blocked 62 shots during his career with the Miners. He also earned C-USA All-Freshman honors during his first year in El Paso.

But following his sophomore season in which he averaged 9.8 points and 6.7 boards and leading the Miners into the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Moultrie made a change. His head coach Tony Barbee departed to take the coaching vacancy at Auburn and the Miners brought in beleaguered Tim Floyd as its new head coach.

"One of the reasons why I transferred is that my coach left," Moultrie said. "Then me and Tim Floyd didn't see eye-to-eye. We had too many disagreements to I decided to pursue my career elsewhere."